Comments Off on Lockheed to turn shuttle-era module into a space habitat for NASA

Deep space missions in the future will take humanity farther and farther away from Earth. Last year NASA chose six United States companies to develop deep space habitat prototypes as part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) study, demonstrating where astronauts might live and work. Aerospace company Lockheed Martin recently won a Phase II contract to develop a cislunar habitat, and they’re repurposing old materials to do so. They’ll be building a full-scale prototype at the Kennedy Space Center, utilizing what Lockheed Martin NextSTEP program manager Bill Pratt described as a historic piece of flight hardware. Lockheed Martin will be constructing the NextSTEP habitat by refurbishing the shuttle-era Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, which was once used to transfer cargo to the International Space Station . Pratt said in a statement, “We are excited to work with NASA to repurpose a historic piece of flight hardware, originally designed for low Earth orbit exploration, to play a role in humanity’s push into deep space. Making use of existing capabilities will be a guiding philosophy for Lockheed Martin to minimize development time and meet NASA ‘s affordability goals.” Related: NASA unveils 6 prototypical deep space human habitats for Mars and beyond Lockheed Martin will also draw on virtual and augmented reality to work on the prototype, giving them the ability to catch issues in the design phase. They’ll work on the project over 18 months, building on their work in Phase I. The NextSTEP habitat could be docked with NASA’s Orion spacecraft in cislunar orbit as part of the Deep Space Gateway. Orion will act as the command deck for the habitat, offering life support, communications, and navigation. But there will be long periods of time when no humans are present at the Deep Space Gateway, and Lockheed Martin had to take that into account in their work – they are also building a Deep Space Avionics Integration Laboratory near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Pratt said, “Because the Deep Space Gateway would be uninhabited for several months at a time, it has to be rugged, reliable, and have the robotic capabilities to operate autonomously . Essentially it is a robotic spacecraft that is well-suited for humans when Orion is present.” Via Lockheed Martin Images via Lockheed Martin and NASA Orion Spacecraft on Flickr

Each habitat prototype is backed by a different private U.S. company. The six companies are Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas, Boeing of Pasadena, Texas, Lockheed Martin of Denver, Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia, Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems of Louisville, Colorado, and NanoRacks of Webster, Texas. The six habitats have the same goal: keep humans and equipment safe even in the notoriously inhospitable climes of places like Mars. However, how each habitat looks and works differs greatly from one to the next. Related: How Scott Kelly’s 340 days in space, and his twin, will help NASA plan future flights “NASA is on an ambitious expansion of human spaceflight, including the Journey to Mars, and we’re utilizing the innovation, skill and knowledge of both the government and private sectors,” said Jason Crusan, director of NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems which manages the NextSTEP program. “The next human exploration capabilities needed beyond the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule are deep space, long duration habitation and in-space propulsion. We are now adding focus and specifics on the deep space habitats where humans will live and work independently for months or years at a time, without cargo supply deliveries from Earth.” Over the next two years, the six partner companies will work to develop ground prototypes and run concept studies to explore options for deep space habitats with Mars and other far-reaching destinations in mind. Each habitat will include a pressurized cabin, with complex integrated systems controlling docking functions, environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), radiation mitigation, fire safety, and crew health capabilities. + NASA NextStep Via Gizmodo Images via NASA , Bigelow Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, NanoRacks, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation